


On the Argo II

by bluespiirit



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Arguments, Bonding, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, My attempt to give Jason Grace a personality, Percy Jackson & Piper McLean Friendship, Romance, The Hazel Leo Frank love triangle does not exist, The friendships we deserved but rick never gave us, The seven just being a bunch of kids sailing on a magic ship, Unlikely Friendships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26617099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluespiirit/pseuds/bluespiirit
Summary: A series of one-shots based on the 7's time aboard the Argo II. Will include friendships, romances, arguments, ect. Each one will be less than 1,000 words. Please review and leave suggestions.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean
Comments: 12
Kudos: 74





	1. Kansas

**Author's Note:**

> I am writing this primarily because there was so much potential for a family dynamic in the HOO series, but it fell flat for me. The seven never got a chance to bond or form close friendships with all of their crew-mates. I want to write about the friendships that I would have loved to see more of. This work is also posted on Fanfiction.net.

After the incident in Kansas, Piper felt guilty. She wouldn't admit it to herself, but if Gaea hadn't chosen for her, she probably would've let Percy die. She felt horrible about it. She'd known Jason longer, but that didn't give her the right to allow Percy to get killed. So when Percy came up to the deck for his turn to guard the ship, Piper stopped him.

"Hey Percy, I wanted to talk about what happened in Kansas. When Gaea told me to choose, I hesitated, and I almost let Jason kill you."

Percy looked surprised. "But you saved both of us in the end."

"Yeah, but it wasn't fair of me to almost make that decision. I know we just met, but.."

"Listen, I get where you're coming from. I know what it's like to want to keep the people you love safe. If it was between you and Annabeth then I might have done the same thing. Uh, no offense though."

Piper laughed. "None taken."

"But really, I get how hard it is. When I was on my first quest with Annabeth and Grover, Hades kidnapped my mom. We went to the underworld to get her back. I had these pearls that allowed you to escape. But there were four of us and only three of them."

"Yikes. What did you guys do?"

"We ended up having to leave my mom behind. It was a hard sacrifice to make, but I found Hades' helm of darkness and he returned her. My point is, it's hard seeing someone you love in danger. You don't really care about anything else, you just want to save them. That's probably how you felt seeing Jason in trouble. That's how I felt with my mom."

"And that's how I felt when Gaea kidnapped my dad."

"You see? I don't blame you for that at all."

Piper smiled."Thanks. For the record, you're a lot smarter than people give you credit for."

"Thank you. Wait hold on, what?"

"Umm, nothing."

Percy narrowed his eyes at her. "Piper."

"Ok, Annabeth may have kinda mentioned that you might act a little... dense sometimes?"

Percy put his hand over his heart and wore a look of disbelief on his face. "Piper, I am so hurt that you think of me as such a dense, clueless person. You of all people." He shook his head at her.

"Sorry, I don't actu-"

Percy laughed. "Relax Piper, it was a joke. But remind me to kill Annabeth later. And forget the whole Kansas thing. Thanks for saving me by the way."

"You're welcome. And one more thing, sorry about letting Blackjack kick you. I was worried that you wouldn't trust me anymore."

Percy rubbed the back of his head as if just remembering the hoove shaped dent. "Yeah, don't worry about it. Knowing Blackjack, he probably enjoyed it. We've got to learn to trust each other. We're a team now."

Piper smiled. "Yeah, a pretty good one I might add."

"Well duh. You've got the most handsome, courageous, amazing son of Poseidon at your disposal."

"Don't flatter yourself, Percy."

Percy winked. "Hey, it's true. You should really go get some sleep now. You look terrible."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well waking up at 4:00 a.m. for guard duty tends to make you pretty tired."

"Have a good sleep, Pipes."

Piper yawned as she started towards her room. "Thanks, but don't call me Pipes."

So maybe Piper didn't know a lot about this Percy guy. But after their little talk, she decided he was someone she could trust.


	2. Gifts

Percy walked into the mess hall for breakfast late, as usual.

The rest of the 7 stared at him as he grabbed a plate and took a seat next to Annabeth.

"What?" He asked.

"Percy," Jason said. "This is like the eighth time you've been late this week."

Percy pointed to his disheveled hair. "Perfection like this takes time, ok? And to be clear, I need at least 4 hours of sleep to properly function. Today I only got 2 and a half because of nightmares and this meeting. Really, what regular person gets up at 5 a.m. anyway?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Percy, you've got to stop-"

"Wait," Percy interrupted. "Why aren't you invisible?"

"Huh?"

"You're wearing your Yankees cap. Why aren't you invisible?"

"Wait, you have an invisibility cap?" Leo asked. "How do I make one of those?"

Annabeth expression turned sad. "Well after my mom basically disowned me, the cap stopped working."

"Wow, that really sucks. Sorry about that, Annabeth." Percy said.

"Why would it stop working because of your mom?" Hazel asked.

"She gave it to me as a gift for my twelfth birthday. That's probably why it's not working. She said that if I failed my quest, I was no daughter of hers."

"Maybe it'll start working again after you complete your quest," Jason suggested.

"Yeah, maybe..."

"Your mom actually gave you a gift?" Frank asked. "The only thing my father ever gave me was a spear that ran out after three uses."

"At least your dad actually got you something," Leo grumbled.

"Hephaestus transported Festus back to camp for you," Piper said. "That's something. All my mom ever did was make me look pretty." She said the word like being pretty was the worst insult in the world.

Hazel shrugged. "Pluto gave me colored pencils and a sketch pad once."

"At least your dad didn't give you away like a trophy to his wife just to make her happy," Jason said.

Percy whistled. "Ok, so a few of us have issues with their parents. What demigod doesn't?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You, seaweed brain."

Percy stared at her. "What? I rarely ever talk to Poseidon."

"He gave you a gift once."

"What was it?" Piper asked.

"It was a sand dollar. I used it in the Titan war to get the East and Hudson rivers to sink Kronos's boats."

"That makes no sense, but he at least helped you out." Piper said.

"The sand dollar cleaned the rivers, so they helped me out," Percy explained. "But it's not like me and my dad have a perfect relationship."

"But you have one." Annabeth pointed out. "You've talked to him like 7 times. That's seven more than most demigods get. You've visited his palace, and he makes a point to visit you. He even called you his favorite son. And Poseidon has a lot of kids."

"I can't even get a 'well done, Jason,'" Jason muttered.

"To be fair, I'm Poseidon's only demigod kid. He probably feels entitled to check on me every once in a while. You know, when we first met he basically told me he wished I had never been born."

"Only because he broke his oath and almost doomed you to a horrible fate. But Percy, Poseidon cares about you. You probably have one of the best relationships out of any of the gods and their children. You should be happy that he tries."

"Ok, yeah, so we do have a pretty good relationship. I'm thankful for that. But you guys should give your parents a break. The gods have a weird way of showing it, but they do care about their children. It's just not in their nature to act all lovey to them."

"The gods are horrible parents 95% of the time." Leo said.

"But the other 5% of the time, they actually help us out." Hazel added.

Everyone else agreed.

Percy took a bite of his blue cinnamon roll and grinned. "Nice talk. So, are we gonna get this meeting started or what?"


	3. Home

Percy gazed out at the turbulent sea, keeping an eye out for signs of trouble. He should've felt relaxed, he supposed, being in his father's domain and all. But he felt uneasy, on edge. He had been this way since the wolf house. His senses were stronger now-he'd realized that on his quest to Alaska. He could sense danger more easily, was more poised for battle at all times. He had been fighting for his life ever since he woke up at the wolf house, and now he'd been thrown into another quest not even a day after his last one. He was tired. So tired. He had to remind himself to relax every so often. His friends had his back. It wasn't all on his shoulders.

"Hey," Annabeth touched his shoulder, coming up next to him and leaning forward on the railing. Her gray eyes searched his face, and it seemed like she was trying to pull the thoughts out of Percy's mind. He missed that. He missed her.

"What?"

She was still staring at him intently. "You're different," she decided.

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Oh? How so?"

"You're quieter. A little harder to read. Your battle tactics have grown. It's not a huge difference, but still, you seem a little more..."

Roman? The unspoken word lingered in the air between them, and Percy wondered when they would address that elephant in the room. Sure, Percy had learned a lot from Lupa and her wolves. And he felt a connection to Camp Jupiter, to New Rome. He'd stayed there for only a few days, but it still felt like home. He sensed that Annabeth was sensitive about the topic, but it's not like he was betraying Camp Half-Blood. You could have two homes, right?

Percy decided that was a conversation for another day. "Yeah, living with wolves for a few weeks can change a man. I swear I felt like Tarzan in those woods." Annabeth cracked a smile. He felt the tension ease a bit.

Percy looked away and gazed out at the water, suddenly hit with an overwhelming wave of guilt.

"8 months," he said, not meeting her eyes. He faced her after a few moments, and saw her playful smile gone, replaced with a sad look. "Gods, 8 months. Annabeth, I can't imagine what that must've been like for you."

Percy got the better end of the bargain, being asleep for all that time. He couldn't imagine the ache of not know where Annabeth was for that long, not knowing if she was even alive. How had she managed it? All that time at camp; building the warship, worrying about the prophecy of seven, being disowned by her mother. 8 months.

Annabeth placed a hand on Percy's cheek. "I was so worried, Percy. Every day, I was just so worried. But deep down I knew you'd be okay."

"And why is that?"

"Because you're not allowed to die on me, Jackson. Not after everything we've been through."

Percy laughed. "You'd probably kill me again. Find a way to come down to the underworld and strangle my ghost, or something." Annabeth laughed too, and it was a gorgeous sound to hear. He wondered how long it'd been since she laughed genuinely.

Percy's smile dropped again as he remembered something. "My mom."

Annabeth bit her lip. "I visited her a lot while you were missing. She was sick with worry, Percy. But she knows about the quest. And she's being strong."

Percy shook his head. He hated how strong his mom had always been for him. He hated putting her in this position over and over again. "She'll never forgive me."

"Hey. She knows it was Hera's fault. And besides, as much as it sucks, your mom is used to this by now. But she knows you'll make it back home, Percy. We'll make it back home."

Percy thought about that. Here they were on an impossibly dangerous quest that would almost surely get them killed. Annabeth had to follow the Mark of Athena-whatever that meant. They had a very slim chance of making it home. Still, Percy remembered the voicemail he had left his mom. "I'll make it home. I promise," he had said. He intended to keep that promise. Looking into Annabeth's brilliant eyes, he realized he had so much to live for.

"We will make it home." He agreed. He pulled her close, wishing he would never have to let go. It was so familiar and calming, her body against his. He remembered something she had said to him so many years ago.

" _I want to build something permanent _."__

__It used to seem like wishful thinking to Percy, but suddenly it didn't feel so impossible to him. He dared to imagine a life for the two of them; a life where they weren't looking over their shoulders constantly. He had a goal now, one that went beyond living to see another day. Permanence, huh? Percy liked the sound of that._ _

__He let the tension in his muscles relax and hugged her a bit tighter. They didn't need words in this moment. For now, they were together and that was enough. He would never let go, he vowed silently. They would survive this quest, and after that, there were endless possibilities. New Rome or not- Percy would follow her anywhere. She was his home too, after all._ _


	4. Sister

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you guys know, I'm going to be jumping around between the books a lot. Also, these first few chapters are gonna have a lot of Percy content in them. I just started rereading the series so I'm trying to remember how to write a few of the characters such as Frank and Hazel.

Percy paused outside of Hazel's door, not sure whether he should knock or not. He wanted to check on her after Jason and Leo had basically said they were hesitant to rescue Nico. Percy was kicking himself for not standing up for her. Sure, the kid was sketchy at times, but he always came through when it mattered. And after everything they'd gone through, Percy felt an obligation to help Nico. He knocked on the door tentatively, wondering if Hazel would even want to talk to him. They had only known each other for about a week, but Percy felt as close to her as any of his other friends. They had already been through so much together. She was like a sister to him, and he wasn't gonna let her sulk in her room by herself.

Hazel opened the door, her eyes red and blotchy. "Hey Percy."

"Hey. In the mood for some company?"

Hazel considered for a second before nodding. She pulled the door open so Percy could slip through. Percy took a seat at her desk chair, looking around the room. Hazel kept her space neat and tidy, and it reminded him of the barracks at Camp Jupiter. Percy wondered what it would have been like if he'd had been at camp Jupiter longer- if he would have met Frank and Hazel sooner. He wished that would have been the case instead of being asleep for all that time. He could imagine the good times they could have had, the bonding they could've done without the near death experiences every five minutes.

Hazel sat on her bunk, looking dejected.

"Look Hazel," Percy started. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. Of course we're gonna do everything possible to save Nico."

Hazel nodded. "I was in the Fields of Asphodel for 70 years. I thought I'd be there for an eternity, mulling over my mistakes for all of time. Nico, he gave me a second chance. He's not a bad guy."

"I know that. He's been through a lot is all. You know, the first time I met Nico, he was 10 years old. You wouldn't have recognized the guy. He was obsessed with this game, mythogmagic."

"Nico played... games?" Hazel looked dumbfounded.

Percy laughed, remembering. "Yeah. He was so hyper, always asking a ton of questions. He was so happy before Bianca-" his voice trailed off.

Hazel had a sad look in her eyes. "Tell me about her. Nico, he's doesn't like to talk about it, but her death changed him. I can tell."

Percy hesitated. He didn't like to talk about Bianca's death either. Even all these years later, the guilt still ate at him. The ghost of the broken promise haunted him every time he looked at Nico di Angelo.

"Well, it started when Annabeth, Thalia, Grover, and I went to a boarding school to pick up Bianca and Nico. They didn't even know they were half bloods yet. Long story short, we had some problems with a monster, and the hunters showed up. They asked Bianca to join, and it was like she didn't even hesitate. She loved Nico, but I think she just needed to find herself, you know? She'd taken care of Nico for so long."

"I can't imagine how Nico must've felt."

"He took it well enough. But a quest was called after that. I promised Nico I would keep Bianca safe, but," he looked down. "There was this giant automaton. She sacrificed her life for us. I couldn't save her. Telling Nico was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."

"Gods, poor Nico. And now _this _happens to him." She looked like she would start bawling again. "I don't know how much more sadness he can carry."__

__Percy sighed. "Honestly? I think we failed him a little bit. He had some bad influences after Bianca died, and he's isolated himself ever since. We should have done more. But you're here for him now. That's what matters. And so am I. We'll get him back."_ _

__Hazel stood and held her hands out for a hug. There were tears running down her face now, but she looked grateful more than anything. Percy got up and hugged her, stroking her curly hair and letting her get her emotions out._ _

__She pulled away and smiled brightly despite the tears. "I'm glad we met, Percy."_ _

__Percy smiled too. "I'm glad, too. You're like the little sister I never had. I'm here for you."_ _

__That made her cry even more. He kissed her forehead and embraced her again. Percy was feeling glad that he had checked on Hazel. He'd meant every word he said. After everything they'd been through, they were connected now. He wouldn't let her go through anything alone as long as he could help it._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did this scene from Mark of Athena bother anyone else? I felt like Percy or Annabeth should have spoken up and defended Nico since they know what he's been through. Please leave comments, they make my day! Thanks for reading:)


	5. Snacks

Jason didn't realize that anyone was in the mess hall until he turned on the light switch in order to grab a snack. He found Percy Jackson sitting at the table eating a blue cookie. Jason jumped a little, then recovered, clutching his chest.

"Dude, why are you sitting in the dark? You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry about that, man. Besides, couldn't you just shock your heart back to life or something?"

Jason rolled his eyes and sat at the seat across from Percy. "I don't think that's how it works."

Percy shrugged. "It would be worth a shot. Anyway, I think better in the dark. I just got off of guard duty. Couldn't sleep. Any reason you're up this late?" he raised an eyebrow at Jason. He finished off the last bite of his cookie and brushed the blue crumbs off of his hand. He washed it down with a blue liquid that Jason guessed was milk.

"Couldn't sleep either. Dreams." Percy nodded his head grimly, no doubt relating. Jason wondered if a nightmare had been the cause of Percy's own restlessness tonight. If so, how could he just casually sit in the dark after it? Sometimes Jason had a hard time figuring him out.

Jason asked the question that had been on his mind since he first met Percy. "Is there a reason everything you're eating is blue?"

Percy grinned. "Inside joke." He didn't offer any more explanations.

Jason felt tentative around Percy Jackson, especially after their fight in Kansas. He didn't know whether he was meant to be friends with the guy or worst enemies. After all, Zeus and Poseidon had their whole rivalry thing going on. Then, there was this unspoken conflict between them because they were both used to being the default leader, being sons of one of the big three gods. And sure, Jason had never wanted to be a leader, but that didn't mean he didn't come to expect it.

Percy was staring at the holographic image of Camp Half Blood, a look of longing in his eyes. "I miss it." His voice sounded wistful.

"Everyone misses you. I swear I couldn't go a day at camp without hearing about the great Percy Jackson."

"Dude, are you kidding me? I was at Camp Jupiter for all of two days and all everyone talked about was Jason Grace this and Jason Grace that. Gods, it was insufferable."

Jason cracked a smile. "You're exaggerating."

"I'm serious. I think they were this close to creating a statue of you. Maybe even a temple."

Jason laughed. "Alright, so we've both made an impact. Seriously, we have got to swap stories one day. I need to hear more about you and Annabeth holding up the sky."

"I wouldn't recommend it. That situation gave me gray hair." Percy winced and touched his hand to his head as if remembering. "You're right though. I want to know more about that Trojan sea monster."

"I'm sure we'll have lots of time for stories. We've got a long journey ahead of us."

"Yeah," Percy was quiet for a few moments. He seemed to be lost in thought.

"Jason," he said suddenly. "It's too much sometimes, isn't it? Feeling like the weight of the camp is on your shoulders."

Jason was surprised at the sudden revelation. "Yeah, I get that. It really is stressful."

Percy nodded in agreement. "It's kind of lonely sometimes, having to always lead. Which is why I'm really glad you're here, and Annabeth too. It's like, we're on this dangerous quest that will almost surely lead to all of our deaths, but I feel better knowing we're in it together."

Jason felt a strange wave of relief rush through him. No one had ever articulated his thoughts and insecurities on being a leader so accurately. "I know exactly what you mean, Percy. Somehow I'm not worried, though. We'll get through it. We've got a really good crew."

Percy grinned as he picked up another blue cookie from his plate and offered it to Jason. "I'm not worried either. I've got your back, Grace."

Jason returned the smile and accepted the cookie. He didn't doubt it for a second.


End file.
